Chapter 17 - Lauren’s Last Secret
Ruth did not like surprises.
So when Lauren Bell’s attorney called and said Lauren had information about Meridian, Ruth’s first response was not gratitude.
It was suspicion with excellent grammar.
Grace sat across from her.
“What does Lauren want?”
“Her attorney says nothing.”
“That usually means something.”
“Possibly.”
Lauren had completed her confinement and was serving the remainder of her sentence under supervision.
Grace knew only because legal notices occasionally crossed Ruth’s desk.
She had not seen Lauren.
Had not spoken to her.
Had not wanted to.
That boundary had held.
Now Lauren claimed she possessed an old notebook belonging to Vincent.
Grace looked toward the window.
“Why now?”
“Her attorney says she found it in property returned from storage.”
“Convenient.”
“Yes.”
“Do investigators know?”
“They will.”
Grace rubbed her forehead.
“Does she want to meet me?”
Ruth hesitated.
“Yes.”
“No.”
The answer came easily.
Grace surprised herself.
Years earlier, Lauren’s presence could ruin an entire week.
Now the decision required one word.
Ruth nodded.
“I expected that.”
“Her information can go through counsel.”
“That’s what I’ll tell them.”
Three days later, Ruth received scanned pages.
Vincent’s handwriting covered most of them.
Schedules.
Phone numbers.
Business reminders.
Then came a page labeled BELLWEATHER.
Grace sat beside Nadia while they reviewed it.
The notes were fragmented.
D.M. controls vehicle.
Separate CF source.
Trust receives bridge.
Future restitution attaches to vehicle.
Administrator paper trail.
Grace’s mouth went dry.
“Vehicle means Meridian,” Nadia said.
“Probably.”
Ruth gave her a look.
Grace corrected herself.
“Possibly.”
Nadia smiled faintly.
There was another notation.
L.F. media if G becomes problem.
“Lark & Finch,” Grace said.
Again, Ruth raised an eyebrow.
“Likely.”
Grace pointed to the final initials.
CB clean exit.
Charles Baines.
The trustee who had resigned early in the original investigation.
Ruth contacted his attorney.
Two days later, Charles agreed to an interview.
He arrived at Ruth’s office looking ten years older than Grace remembered.
His hands trembled slightly.
“I thought this was finished,” he said.
“So did many people,” Ruth replied.
Charles looked at Grace.
“I owe you an apology.”
Grace did not rescue him.
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“Vincent told me signing was administrative. Dean brought papers to my house sometimes.”
“What papers?”
“I don’t know.”
“That answer stopped being acceptable years ago.”
“I know.”
Grace believed he did.
That did not repair anything.
Charles explained that Dean had asked him to sign several blank signature pages for “time-sensitive board work.”
Samuel cursed under his breath.
Ruth remained calm.
“You signed blank pages?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Maybe six.”
“Did any involve Meridian?”
“I didn’t know Meridian existed.”
Nadia placed the alleged financing resolution in front of him.
Charles looked at his signature.
“That could be real.”
Grace felt frustrated.
“So Dean had genuine signatures.”
“Mine, apparently.”
“And Samuel’s?”
Charles shook his head.
“I never saw Samuel sign blank pages.”
The forged agreement suddenly made more sense.
Charles’s signature might be genuine.
Samuel’s could be copied.
Grace’s could be copied.
Enough authenticity to make the whole document survive a casual glance.
Charles covered his face.
“I was lazy.”
Nobody contradicted him.
Afterward, Samuel and Grace walked to the parking garage.
“I spent years blaming Charles,” Samuel said.
“He gave people reasons.”
“I know.”
Grace pressed the elevator button.
“Do you think Vincent planned all of this?”
“Some of it.”
“And Dean?”
“Some.”
Samuel looked at her.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only honest one.”
The elevator opened.
Before they entered, Ruth called Grace’s name.
She hurried toward them holding her phone.
“Lauren’s attorney found something else.”
Grace waited.
“A photograph.”
Ruth showed them.
Vincent and Dean stood in a private dining room.
Grace recognized the Bellweather immediately.
Date stamp: six months before the anniversary dinner.
On the table between them lay several documents.
One displayed the Meridian logo.
Another contained a familiar page header.
Harbor Family Relief Trust.
Grace zoomed closer.
Near Dean’s hand sat a small blue object.
A notary stamp.
“Can we identify it?” Grace asked.
“Maybe.”
Ruth sent the image to the investigator handling the break-in and fraud referral.
That night, Grace received an unexpected envelope at home.
It had been routed through Ruth.
Lauren’s handwriting appeared on the outside.
Grace did not open it immediately.
Jonah found her sitting at the kitchen table.
“You okay?”
“Lauren sent something.”
“Do you want me here?”
“Yes.”
Grace opened the envelope.
There was no long apology.
Only one page.
Grace,
I remembered something after I saw the notebook.
Vincent once asked me to schedule a private dinner for Dean and a woman named Marcy Hale. She was a notary who handled company documents. Vincent told me not to put the reservation under Calder Freight.
I did it anyway because I needed the expense in my system.
The invoice should still exist in my old business records.
I already told my attorney.
I am not asking you to forgive me.
Lauren.
Grace read it twice.
Marcy Hale.
The name on the Meridian notarization was M. Hale.
For the first time, the notary was no longer just a stamp.
May you like
She was a person.
And people could answer questions.
